System and method for product delivery using a fulfillment model

ABSTRACT

Various implementations directed to a system and method for product delivery using a fulfillment model are provided. In one implementation, a method may include generating a fulfillment database for fulfillers, where the fulfillment database includes inventory data and location data. The method may also include receiving order data from an originator, where the order data includes delivery data and product data corresponding to a transaction between a customer and the originator, and where the product data includes data corresponding to a product purchased by the customer from the originator. The method may further include determining optimal prices for the fulfillers using a pricing model based on the order data and the fulfillment database. The method may additionally include selecting a first fulfiller using a fulfillment model based on the order data, the fulfillment database, and the optimal prices.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to provide background information to facilitatea better understanding of various technologies described herein. As thesection's title implies, this is a discussion of related art. That suchart is related in no way implies that it is prior art. The related artmay or may not be prior art. It should therefore be understood that thestatements in this section are to be read in this light, and not asadmissions of prior art.

In some scenarios, a customer may place an order with a business for aproduct with an expectation that the product will be provided by aparticular date. A customer may be a consumer, another business, and/orthe like. However, at times, the business may be unable to provide theproduct to the customer by the particular date for one or more reasons.Such reasons may include, but are not limited to, delayed shipment froma supplier and/or other entities in a supply chain, logistical delays,production delays, weather-induced delays, transportation problems,unexpected shortages in inventory, and/or the like.

SUMMARY

Described herein are implementations of various technologies relating toa system and method for product delivery using a fulfillment model. Inone implementation, a method may include generating a fulfillmentdatabase for a plurality of fulfillers, where the fulfillment databaseincludes inventory data and location data. The method may also includereceiving order data from an originator, where the order data includesdelivery data and product data corresponding to a transaction between acustomer and the originator, and where the product data includes datacorresponding to a product purchased by the customer from theoriginator. The method may further include determining a plurality ofoptimal prices for the plurality of fulfillers using a pricing modelbased on at least the order data and the fulfillment database. Themethod may additionally include selecting a first fulfiller of theplurality of fulfillers using a fulfillment model based on at least theorder data, the fulfillment database, and the plurality of optimalprices. In addition, the method may include transmitting deliverycommand data to a delivery device, where the delivery device isconfigured to perform a delivery of the product from the first fulfillerto a designated location for the customer based on the delivery commanddata.

In another implementation, a method may include generating a fulfillmentdatabase for a plurality of fulfillers, where the fulfillment databaseincludes inventory data and location data. The method may also includereceiving order data from an originator, where the order data includesdelivery data and product data corresponding to a transaction between acustomer and the originator, and where the product data includes datacorresponding to a product purchased by the customer from theoriginator. The method may further include determining a plurality ofoptimal prices for the plurality of fulfillers using a pricing modelbased on at least the order data and the fulfillment database. Themethod may additionally include selecting a first fulfiller of theplurality of fulfillers using a fulfillment model based on at least theorder data, the fulfillment database, and the plurality of optimalprices. In addition, the method may include arranging a delivery of theproduct by a deliverer from the first fulfiller to a designated locationfor the customer.

In yet another implementation, a system may include one or moreprocessors and one or more memory. The one or more memory may include aplurality of program instructions which, when executed by the one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to generate afulfillment database for a plurality of fulfillers, where thefulfillment database includes inventory data and location data. Theplurality of program instructions may also include instructions which,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to receive order data from an originator, where the orderdata includes delivery data and product data corresponding to atransaction between a customer and the originator, and where the productdata includes data corresponding to a product purchased by the customerfrom the originator. The plurality of program instructions may furtherinclude instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to determine a plurality of optimalprices for the plurality of fulfillers using a pricing model based on atleast the order data and the fulfillment database. The plurality ofprogram instructions may additionally include instructions which, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto select a first fulfiller of the plurality of fulfillers using afulfillment model based on at least the order data, the fulfillmentdatabase, and the plurality of optimal prices. In addition, theplurality of program instructions may include instructions which, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto transmit delivery command data to a delivery device, where thedelivery device is configured to perform a delivery of the product fromthe first fulfiller to a designated location for the customer based onthe delivery command data.

The above referenced summary section is provided to introduce aselection of concepts in a simplified form that are further describedbelow in the detailed description section. The summary is not intendedto identify key features or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimedsubject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limitedto implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any partof this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of various techniques will hereafter be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood,however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only the variousimplementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope ofvarious techniques described herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a system using a fulfillmentplatform in accordance with implementations of various techniquesdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for using a fulfillmentplatform in accordance with implementations of various techniquesdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of a computing device in which one or morevarious technologies described herein may be incorporated and practiced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various implementations directed to a system and method for productdelivery using a fulfillment model will now be described in thefollowing paragraphs with reference to FIGS. 1-3 .

As is known, a business may offer one or more products for sale to itscustomers. A business may be any entity known to those skilled in theart, such as a vendor, a manufacturer, a supplier, a warehouse, a store,a retail chain, a franchisor, and/or the like. In addition, a customermay be a consumer, a middleman, another business, and/or the like. Theone or more products offered for sale may be any good and/or serviceknown to those skilled in the art. Goods may include parts, materials,merchandise, supplies, equipment, components, food, and/or the like.

As noted above, a customer may purchase a product from a business withan expectation that the product will be provided by a specified date inthe future. At times, though, the business may be unable to provide theproduct to the customer by the specified date for one or more reasons.Such reasons may include, but are not limited to, delayed shipment froma supplier and/or other entities in a supply chain, sourcing issues,logistical delays, production delays, weather-induced delays,transportation problems, unforeseen demand for the product, unexpectedshortages in inventory, and/or the like. As used herein, inventory mayrefer to the products available at a facility associated with abusiness.

A business may attempt to resolve the issue of unavailability by turningto one or more other businesses to supply the product. However,searching for replacement products can be time-consuming and/orexpensive, and, despite its efforts, the business may still fail toprovide the product to the customer by the specified date. Further, forcases in which there is insufficient time to perform a search, thebusiness may be forced to acquire a replacement product from an unknownprovider, which may increase the risk that the customer may receive aproduct that is defective, fraudulent, costlier than average, of poorquality, and/or the like. For example, a small business may not haveaccess to a wide network of suppliers to make up for an unexpectedshortfall in inventory of a certain good, and, in the interest of time,may be forced to acquire additional inventory from an unknown supplierfor twice the average price for the good.

In view of the above, various implementations of a system and method forproduct delivery using a fulfillment platform are described herein,where the fulfillment platform may be used to ultimately deliver aproduct for a business. In some implementations, the fulfillmentplatform may receive a request from a business to fulfill a productneed. The fulfillment platform may be used to select another businessthat can fulfill the need, where the selection may be based on, atleast, inventory, pricing, demand, distance, delivery costs, and/or thelike. The fulfillment platform may then arrange for delivery of theproduct from the selected fulfiller for the requesting business.

I. System

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a system 100 using afulfillment platform 110 in accordance with implementations of varioustechniques described herein. The system 100 may include a network 102,the fulfillment platform 110, a customer 120, an originator 130, aplurality of fulfillers 140, and a deliverer 150.

The fulfillment platform 110, the originator 130, the plurality offulfillers 140, and the deliverer 150 may be in communication with oneanother via the network 102. In a further implementation, the customer120 may also be in communication via the network 102. The network 102may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the followingcomponents: a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) (e.g.,the Internet), a mobile network, a virtual network, and/or any otherpublic and/or private network known in the art capable of supportingcommunication among two or more of the elements of the system 100.

In one implementation, and as similarly discussed above, the customer120 may purchase a product from the originator 130 with an expectationthat the product will be provided at a designated location by aspecified date in the future. The customer 120 may be similar to thecustomer described above in that the customer 120 may be a consumer, amiddleman, a business, and/or the like. The product may be similar tothe one or more products described above. The originator 130 may be anybusiness known to those skilled in the art, such as a vendor, amanufacturer, a supplier, a warehouse, a store, a retail chain, afranchisor, and/or the like. In some implementations, the originator 130may own, operate, and/or have access to one or more physical facilities(e.g., a warehouse, a store, and/or the like) from where the originator130 may attempt to provide the product for the customer 120.

The designated location may represent a location that has been assignedto and/or agreed upon by both the customer 120 and the originator 130,and the designated location may represent a location where the customer120 can access the product by the specified date. In one suchimplementation, the customer 120 may expect, by the specified date, forthe product to be delivered to the designated location, such as alocation associated with the customer 120. In another implementation,the customer 120 may expect, by the specified date, for the product tobe available to be picked up from the designated location, such as alocation associated with the originator 130.

In some implementations, the specified date may be a specific dateand/or time that has been agreed to by both the customer 120 and theoriginator 130. In another implementation, the specified date mayrepresent a range of dates and/or times for when the product will beprovided. In yet another implementation, the specified date mayrepresent a date and/or time by when a person known in the art wouldexpect the product to be provided.

The customer 120 may purchase the product from the originator 130 usingany form of communication known to those skilled in the art. In oneimplementation, the customer 120 may use offline communication topurchase the product from the originator 130. In such an implementation,the customer 120 may place an order for the product by calling theoriginator 130 via a telephone, by visiting a facility of the originator130 and making the order in person, and/or the like.

In another implementation, the customer 120 may purchase the productfrom the originator 130 using online communication via one or morecomputing devices 121 and the network 102. The one or more computingdevices 121 may include any computing device known to those skilled inthe art, including mobile devices, personal computers, and/or laptops.Various implementations of the one or more computing devices 121 arediscussed later with respect to FIG. 3 . As further explained below, theone or more computing devices 121 may be configured to perform one ormore operations described herein, including transmitting an order forthe product to the originator 130 via the network 102, where the ordermay include information regarding the product and the delivery of theproduct. In a further implementation, and as described later, thecustomer 120 may be able to communicate with the fulfillment platform110 via the one or more computing devices 121 and the network 102.

Similarly, the originator 130 may use one or more computing devices 131to receive the order for the product from the customer 120 via thenetwork 102. The one or more computing devices 131 may include anycomputing device known to those skilled in the art, including one ormore servers, workstations, personal computers, and/or laptops. Variousimplementations of the one or more computing devices 131 are discussedlater with respect to FIG. 3 . As further explained below, the one ormore computing devices 131 may be configured to perform one or moreoperations described herein, including receiving the order from thecustomer 120 and transmitting data regarding its product need to thefulfillment platform 110.

The fulfillment platform 110 may be used to find one or more fulfillersof the plurality of fulfillers 140 that are able to provide the productfor the originator 130. In some implementations, the fulfillmentplatform 110 may be operated by and/or provided by an entity, where theentity may be unrelated to the customer 120, the originator 130, and/orthe plurality of fulfillers 140. In other implementations, the entitymay be related to at least one fulfiller of the plurality of fulfillers140.

The fulfillment platform 110 may be a software-based system, ahardware-based system, or combinations thereof. In particular, thefulfillment platform 110 may include, and/or may be implemented using,one or more computing devices 111. The one or more computing devices 111may include any computing device known to those skilled in the art, suchas one or more servers. Various implementations of the one or morecomputing devices 111 are discussed later with respect to FIG. 3 . Asfurther explained below, the fulfillment platform 110, through its oneor more computing devices 111 and its interactions with the originator130 and the fulfillers 140, may be configured to perform one or moreoperations described herein, including receiving a request from theoriginator 130 to fulfill a product need, selecting a fulfiller from theplurality of fulfillers 140 to meet the need using a pricing model and afulfillment model, and arranging for delivery of the product from theselected fulfiller for the originator 130.

Each fulfiller of the plurality of fulfillers 140 may be any businessknown to those skilled in the art, such as a vendor, a manufacturer, asupplier, a warehouse, a store, a retail chain, a franchisor, and/or thelike. In particular, each fulfiller may store an inventory of one ormore products that can be provided by the fulfiller. The inventory maybe stored in one or more physical facilities (e.g., a warehouse, astore, and/or the like) owned by, operated by, and/or accessible to thefulfiller. The inventory of products may include one or more typesand/or quantities of products, and, for one or more of the fulfillers,the inventory may include the product requested by the originator 130.In one implementation, each of the plurality of fulfillers 140 may havethe same inventory of products. In another implementation, at least onefulfiller may store an inventory of products that differs from theinventories of other fulfillers. In one such implementation, at leastone fulfiller may store one or more products that correspond to adifferent commercial industry than the products of other fulfillers.

Each fulfiller of the plurality of fulfillers 140 may operate one morecomputing devices 141, which may include any computing device known tothose skilled in the art. For example, the one or more computing devices141 may include one or more servers, workstations, personal computers,and/or laptops. Various implementations of the one or more computingdevices 141 are discussed later with respect to FIG. 3 . As furtherexplained below, the one or more computing devices 141 may be configuredto perform one or more operations described herein, includingtransmitting data (e.g., inventory data) to the fulfillment platform 110via the network 102. As is also explained later, the fulfillmentplatform 110, through its interactions with the fulfillers 140, may usethis data to select a fulfiller from the plurality of fulfillers 140 viaa pricing model and a fulfillment model.

The deliverer 150 may be used to deliver the product requested by theoriginator 130 from a selected fulfiller. In some implementations, thedeliverer 150 may be an individual or an entity that is unrelated to thecustomer 120, the originator 130, or the plurality of fulfillers 140.For example, the deliverer 150 may be a courier service. In otherimplementations, the deliverer 150 may be an individual or an entitythat is related to at least one of the customer 120, the originator 130,or the plurality of fulfillers 140. For example, the deliverer 150 maybe a delivery employee of the selected fulfiller.

The deliverer 150 may use one or more computing devices 151 to deliverthe product requested by the originator 130 from the selected fulfiller.The one or more computing devices 151 may include any computing deviceknown to those skilled in the art, including mobile devices, personalcomputers, and/or laptops. Various implementations of the one or morecomputing devices 151 are discussed later with respect to FIG. 3 . Asfurther explained below, the one or more computing devices 151 may beconfigured to perform one or more operations described herein, includingcommunicating with the fulfillment platform 110 via the network 102. Inaddition, though not shown in FIG. 1 , the deliverer 150 may also useone or more delivery devices to deliver the product requested by theoriginator 130 from the selected fulfiller. The one or more deliverydevices may include any delivery device known to those skilled in theart, including automated vehicles, semi-automated vehicles, unmannedaerial vehicles (UAV), drones, robotic devices, and/or the like.

Although not shown in FIG. 1 , the system 100 may also include a paymentnetwork, where the payment network may be able to communicate with otherelements of the system 100 via the network 102. In one implementation,the payment network may be used to facilitate and/or process paymentsbetween the originator 130 and the selected fulfiller. In a furtherimplementation, the payment network may be used to facilitate and/orprocess payments between the originator 130 and the customer 120. Thepayment network may include any payment network and/or payment systemknown to those skilled in the art, such as Banknet of MasterCardInternational Incorporated.

In another implementation, the computing devices mentioned above may beconfigured to perform one or more operations as described herein usingone or more applications downloaded to, installed in, and/or active inthe computing devices. In one such implementation, the entity operatingand/or providing the fulfillment platform 110 may also provide theseapplications. In a further implementation, the fulfillment platform 110and the computing devices mentioned above may communicate with oneanother using any technique known to those skilled in the art. Forexample, though not shown in FIG. 1 , the fulfillment platform 110 andthe computing devices of the customer 120, the originator 130, theplurality of fulfillers 140, and/or the deliverer 150 may communicatewith one another using one or more application programming interfaces(APIs) associated with the applications.

Moreover, although the system 100 is presented in one arrangement, otherimplementations may include one or more elements of the system 100 indifferent arrangements and/or with additional elements. For example,though one customer 120 is shown transacting with the originator 130,those skilled in the art will understand that the implementationsdescribed herein may be applied to scenarios in which multiple customerspurchase products from the originator 130. In another example, thoughone originator 130 is shown in FIG. 1 , those skilled in the art willunderstand that the implementations described herein may be applied toscenarios in which multiple originators may communicate with thefulfillment platform 110.

II. Operation

In operation, the system 100 may be used to find one or more fulfillersof the plurality of fulfillers 140 that can provide a product for theoriginator 130. In particular, one or more elements of the system 100(e.g., the fulfillment platform 110) may be used to receive a requestfrom the originator 130 to fulfill a product need, select a fulfillerfrom the plurality of fulfillers 140 to meet the need using a pricingmodel and a fulfillment model, and then arrange for delivery of theproduct from the selected fulfiller for the originator 130.

A. Fulfiller Enrollment

Initially, before the system 100 can be used to provide the product forthe originator 130, a number of businesses may need to enroll asfulfillers 140 with the fulfillment platform 110. A business may chooseto enroll as a fulfiller for any number of reasons, such as to access adifferent customer base, to increase its revenue, and/or the like. Insome implementations, the entity that operates and/or provides thefulfillment platform 110 may allow a business to enroll as a fulfillerwith the platform 110 through a service and/or subscription agreementwith the entity.

In one implementation, prior to enrollment, a business may use its oneor more computing devices (e.g., computing devices 141) to download,install, and/or activate one or more applications associated with theplatform 110. As noted above, the entity operating and/or providing thefulfillment platform 110 may also provide these applications. Usingthese one or more applications, the business may be able to communicatewith the fulfillment platform 110 via the network 102. In anotherimplementation, the business may use a web browser installed on one ofits computing devices (e.g., computing devices 141) to communicate withthe fulfillment platform 110 via the network 102. In particular, theentity operating and/or providing the fulfillment platform 110 mayprovide and/or host a web portal through which the business may accessthe fulfillment platform 110.

The business may then initiate an enrollment process to become afulfiller using the one or more applications or the web portal. In oneimplementation, the one or more computing devices of the business may,through the applications or the web browser, display a prompt indicatingthat the business is to provide profile data corresponding to thebusiness in order to enroll as a fulfiller. The business may provide theprofile data to the applications or the web browser via one or moreinput devices of its computing devices.

The profile data may include data relating to a username, a password,and/or the like for the business. In particular, the one or morecomputing devices of the business may display a request for the businessto create and provide a username and a password. In a furtherimplementation, the one or more applications or the web portal may beused to generate a unique identifier, a unique public and privateencryption key pair, and/or the like for the business, which may also beincluded as part of the profile data of the business.

The profile data may also include data relating to one or moreattributes of the business, such as inventory data, location data,shipping data, and/or payment data. The one or more computing devices ofthe business, through the applications or the web browser, may display arequest that the business provide such data, as well. Inventory data mayinclude any data relating to the one or more products offered for saleby the business. For example, the inventory data may include datarelating to a tracking code for each product offered for sale by thebusiness, such as a stock-keeping unit (SKU). The inventory data mayalso include data relating to the quantities of each product availablein inventory, the one or more costs associated with each product offeredfor sale (e.g., acquisition cost, maintenance cost, production cost,storage cost, and/or the like), an industry designation for each productoffered for sale, and/or the like.

As noted above, the business may provide the inventory data via one ormore input devices of its computing devices. The one or more inputdevices may include a keyboard, a mouse, a stylus, a camera, a touchsensitive panel (e.g., a touch pad or a touch screen, etc.), acquisitionequipment, and/or any other input devices known in the art. In oneimplementation, the business may use the acquisition equipment toacquire the inventory data and then provide this data to its one or morecomputing devices. The acquisition equipment may include any equipmentknown in the art that can detect the presence of a product in afacility, such as sensors, readers, scanners, and/or cameras. Forexample, the acquisition equipment may include radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) readers used to detect tags attached to products,ultra-wideband (UWB) sensors used to detect the movement of products ina facility, barcode scanners used to detect barcodes printed onproducts, cameras used to obtain images of products in a facility thatcan be interpreted using artificial intelligence and/or computer vision,and/or the like. In such an example, an employee of the business may usethis acquisition equipment to detect the products available in itsfacilities, and then transmit data (i.e., inventory data) regarding thedetected products to the one or more computing devices. The one or morecomputing devices may then include this inventory data as part of theprofile data provided to the applications or the web browser describedabove.

Location data may include any data relating to an address or a locationassociated with the business. For example, the location data may includedata relating to a street address for one or more physical facilitiesassociated with the business, where the physical facilities may includea warehouse, a store, an office, and/or the like. Shipping data mayinclude any data relating to shipping options available to the business.For example, the shipping data may include data relating to types ofshipment (e.g., freight, truck, air, etc.), classes of shipment (e.g.,standard, express, etc.), costs associated with the types and classes ofshipment (e.g., average costs per mile per shipping type and/or class),estimated delivery times for the types and classes of shipment, and/orthe like. Payment data may include any data relating to payment accounts(e.g., bank accounts, credit card accounts, etc.) through which thebusiness may send and/or receive payment for products, such as throughthe payment network discussed above.

Once provided by the business, the one or more computing devices of thebusiness may transmit the profile data to the fulfillment platform 110via the network 102. The profile data may be stored in a fulfillmentdatabase located in memory associated with the one or more computingdevices 111. The fulfillment database may be a database that may begenerated or organized using any techniques known to those skilled inthe art, where the database may include the profile data for each of theplurality of fulfillers 140. Once the profile data for the business isstored in the fulfillment database, the enrollment process for thebusiness may be complete, and the fulfillment platform 110 may designatethe business as a fulfiller. In order to enroll the plurality offulfillers 140 for the fulfillment platform 110, the above steps may berepeated for each business seeking to become a fulfiller.

In some implementations, a fulfiller may be able to update its profiledata in the fulfillment database. In one such implementation, with eachsale of a product, the fulfiller may provide updated inventory data tothe platform 110, such as through an input device of one of itscomputing devices 141 and through the one or more applications or theweb portal described above. The input device may include the acquisitionequipment mentioned above (e.g., RFID readers, UWB sensors, barcodescanners, cameras, etc.). For example, the acquisition equipment may bepositioned in a facility of the fulfiller (e.g., near an exit, on ashelf, etc.) such that the equipment may detect when the product isremoved from the facility, such as for a sale. Once the equipmentdetects the removal of the product, the one or more computing devices141 of the fulfiller may transmit updated profile date (i.e., updatedinventory data) to the platform 110. The platform 110 may, in turn, thenupdate its fulfillment database to reflect the updated profile data forthe fulfiller. In one implementation, a fulfiller may automaticallyupdate its profile data in the fulfillment database in real-time or nearreal-time using its computing devices 141, its associated acquisitionequipment, the network 102, and the computing devices 111.

In another implementation, each fulfiller may also provide capacity datato the fulfillment platform 110, where the platform 110 may store thecapacity data as part of the fulfiller's profile data in the fulfillmentdatabase. Capacity data may include any data relating to a productioncapacity, shipment capacity, order capacity, and/or the like for thefulfiller. For example, the capacity data may include data thatindicates whether the fulfiller has reached its production capacityand/or whether the fulfiller is accepting new orders for one or more ofits products. In such an example, the fulfiller may use the capacitydata to cease accepting new orders via the platform 110, such as duringbusy periods or if the fulfiller is having production issues.

In some implementations, the fulfillment platform 110 may also providedata to be stored as part of a fulfiller's profile data in thefulfillment database. In one such implementation, the fulfillmentplatform 110 may provide ratings data to be stored as part of afulfiller's profile data. The ratings data for a fulfiller may includedata relating to ratings, reviews, and/or feedback assigned to thefulfiller and received from parties (e.g., an originator) who havepreviously transacted with the fulfiller via the platform 110. Theratings, reviews, and/or feedback may reflect a level of satisfactionthat the party experienced when transacting with the fulfiller. Forexample, an originator may rate the fulfiller between 0 to 5 based onits experience with the fulfiller, with a 5 rating representing thehighest level of satisfaction.

In another implementation, the fulfillment platform 110 may provideindustry data to be stored as part of a fulfiller's profile data, wherethe industry data may include data relating to an industry designationfor the fulfiller. The industry designation may be derived based oninventory data for the fulfiller and may be based on any merchantcategorization database known in the art, such as the Dun & BradstreetDUNS Number database. In some implementations, each fulfiller mayprovide the industry data to be stored as part of the fulfiller'sprofile data. In yet another implementation, the fulfillment platform110 may provide at least some of the shipping data for a fulfiller, suchas data relating to costs associated with the types and classes ofshipment, estimated delivery times for the types and classes ofshipment, and/or the like.

B. Customer-Originator Transaction

Once the fulfillment platform 110 has generated its fulfillment databasefor a plurality of fulfillers 140, the platform 110 may be used by anoriginator 130 to find one or more fulfillers that can provide aproduct. As noted above, as part of a transaction between the customer120 and the originator 130, a customer 120 may purchase a product fromthe originator 130 with an expectation that the product will be providedat a designated location by a specified date in the future. The customer120 may purchase the product by placing an order for the product withthe originator 130 and providing payment for the product at the time ofthe order or at a later date (e.g., after the product is provided by thespecified date). In some implementations, the purchased product may haveone or more associated tracking codes (e.g., SKU), may be purchased invarious quantities, and/or may have an associated price that thecustomer 120 paid or agreed to pay to the originator 130 for theproduct.

As mentioned above, the designated location may represent a locationthat has been assigned to and/or agreed upon by both the customer 120and the originator 130, and the designated location may represent alocation where the customer 120 can access the product by the specifieddate. The designated location may be a location associated with thecustomer 120, a location associated with the originator 130, athird-party location, and/or the like. For example, the customer 120 mayexpect, by the specified date, for the product to be delivered to alocation associated with the customer 120, such as a home of thecustomer 120, a facility (e.g., a warehouse, a store, and/or the like)of the customer 120, and/or the like. In another example, the customer120 may expect, by the specified date, for the product to be availableto be picked up by the customer 120 from a location associated with theoriginator 130, such as a facility (e.g., a warehouse, a store, and/orthe like) of the originator 120. In yet another example, the customer120 may expect, by the specified date, for the product to be availableto be picked up by the customer 120 from a third-party location notassociated with the customer 120 and/or the originator 130, such as apickup locker operated by a separate entity.

As also noted above, in some implementations, the specified date may bea specific date and/or time that has been agreed to by both the customer120 and the originator 130 as part of the transaction. In anotherimplementation, the specified date may represent a range of dates and/ortimes for when the product will be provided. In yet anotherimplementation, the specified date may represent a date and/or time bywhen a person known in the art would expect the product to be provided.In some implementations, the originator 130 may determine the specifieddate based on the designated location mentioned above.

C. Fulfillment Platform Access

As noted above, for any number of reasons, the originator 130 may beunable to provide the purchased product to the customer 120 at thedesignated location by the specified date. Such reasons may include adelayed shipment from a supplier and/or other entities in a supplychain, sourcing issues, logistical delays, production delays,weather-induced delays, transportation problems, unforeseen demand forthe product, unexpected shortages in inventory, and/or the like.

As such, in one implementation, the originator 130 may use thefulfillment platform 110 to find one or more fulfillers of the pluralityof fulfillers 140 that can provide the product to the customer 120 atthe designated location by the specified date. In particular, theoriginator 130 may use the platform 110 to find a fulfiller that canarrange for delivery of the product, by the specified date, to alocation associated with the customer 120, a location associated withthe originator 130, a third-party location, and/or the like.

To access the fulfillment platform 110 to find a fulfiller, theoriginator 130 may initially need to enroll with the platform 110 as anoriginator. In some implementations, the entity that operates and/orprovides the fulfillment platform 110 may allow the originator 130 toenroll as an originator with the platform 110 through a service and/orsubscription agreement with the entity.

In one implementation, the originator 130 may be unrelated to theplurality of fulfillers 140 already enrolled with the platform 110. Insuch an implementation, the originator 130 may use its one or morecomputing devices 131 to download, install, and/or activate the one ormore applications mentioned above, which may be used to communicate withthe platform 110 via the network 102. In another implementation, theoriginator 130 may use a web browser installed on one of its computingdevices 131 to communicate with the fulfillment platform 110 via thenetwork 102 and a web portal.

The originator 130 may then initiate an enrollment process using the oneor more applications or the web portal. The one or more computingdevices 131 may, through the applications or the web browser, display aprompt indicating that the originator 130 is to provide originatorprofile data corresponding to the originator 130 in order to enroll. Theoriginator 130 may provide the originator profile data to theapplications or the web browser via one or more input devices of itscomputing devices 131.

The originator profile data may include data relating to a username, apassword, and/or the like for the originator 130. In particular, the oneor more computing 131 may display a request for the originator 130 tocreate and provide a username and a password. In a furtherimplementation, the one or more applications or the web portal may beused to generate a unique identifier, a unique public and privateencryption key pair, and/or the like for the originator 130, which mayalso be included as part of the originator profile data.

The originator profile data may also include data relating to one ormore attributes of the originator 130, such as originator contact dataand/or originator payment data. Originator contact data may include anydata relating to contact information for the originator 130, such as aname, street address, and/or the like. For example, the originatorcontact data may include data relating to a street address for one ormore physical facilities associated with the originator 130. Originatorpayment data may include any data relating to payment accounts (e.g.,bank accounts, credit card accounts, etc.) through which the originator130 may send and/or receive payment, such as through the payment networkdiscussed above.

Once provided by the originator 130, the one or more computing devices131 may transmit the originator profile data to the fulfillment platform110 via the network 102. The originator profile data may be stored in anoriginator database located in memory associated with the one or morecomputing devices 111. The originator database may be a database thatmay be generated or organized using any techniques known to thoseskilled in the art. Once the originator profile data for the originator130 is stored in the originator database, the enrollment process for theoriginator 130 may be complete. Upon successfully enrolling with theplatform 110, the originator 130 may, through the one or moreapplications or the web portal, access the fulfillment platform 110using its one or more computing devices 131 and the network 102.

In a further implementation, the fulfillment platform 110 may provideoriginator ratings data to be stored as part of an originator's profiledata. The originator ratings data may include data relating to ratings,reviews, and/or feedback assigned to the originator 130 and receivedfrom parties (e.g., a fulfiller) who have previously transacted with theoriginator 130 via the platform 110. The ratings, reviews, and/orfeedback may reflect a level of satisfaction that the party experiencedwhen transacting with the originator 130, such as the 0-5 scalementioned above.

In another implementation, the originator 130 may have previouslyenrolled as one of the plurality of fulfillers 140. In such animplementation, the originator 130 may use the username and passwordcreated during the fulfiller enrollment process in order to access theplatform 110, allowing the originator 130 to find a different fulfillerthat can provide the product for the originator 130. The one or morecomputing devices 131 of the originator 130 may, through the one or moreapplications or the web portal mentioned above, display a promptindicating that the originator 130 is to provide data relating to ausername, a password, and/or the like to the fulfillment platform 110.Once provided by the originator 130, the one or more computing devices131 may transmit the data to the fulfillment platform 110 via thenetwork 102. Using this data, the platform 110 may authenticate theoriginator 130 using the profile data stored in the fulfillmentdatabase. Upon successful authentication, the originator 130 may,through the one or more applications or the web portal, access thefulfillment platform 110 using its one or more computing devices 131 andthe network 102.

D. Order Data

Upon successfully accessing the fulfillment platform 110, the originator130 may use the fulfillment platform 110 to find one or more fulfillersthat can supply the product purchased by the customer 120 and provide itat the designated location by the specified date. To find the one ormore fulfillers that can do so, the originator 130 may provide orderdata to the fulfillment platform 110. In particular, the one or morecomputing devices 131 may, through the one or more applications or theweb browser, display a prompt indicating that the originator 130 is toprovide the order data to the platform 110 in order to find one or morefulfillers. The originator 130 may provide the order data to theapplications or the web browser via one or more input devices of itscomputing devices 131.

The order data may include data relating to one or more attributes ofthe transaction between the customer 120 and the originator 130, such asproduct data and delivery data. In some implementations, the customer120 may have provided the product data and the delivery data to theoriginator while purchasing or requesting the product, such as byproviding the data using offline communication (e.g., telephone orin-person) or online communication (e.g., use one or more computingdevices 121 to transmit product data and delivery data to one or morecomputing devices 131).

Product data may include any data relating to the product purchased bythe customer 120. For example, the product data may include datarelating to a tracking code for the purchased product (e.g., the SKU),the quantity of the product that was purchased, the price that thecustomer 120 paid or agreed to pay to the originator 130 for theproduct, an industry designation for the purchased product, and/or thelike.

Delivery data may include any data that relates to the designatedlocation mentioned above, such as data relating to a name and a streetaddress for the designated location. In one implementation, the deliverydata may include data relating to a location associated with thecustomer 120 where the purchased product is to be delivered. Forexample, the delivery data may include data relating to a name andaddress for a home of the customer 120, a facility (e.g., a warehouse, astore, and/or the like) of the customer 120, and/or the like. In anotherimplementation, the delivery data may include data relating to alocation associated with the originator 130 from where the purchasedproduct is to be picked up. For example, the delivery data may includedata relating to a name and address for a facility (e.g., a warehouse, astore, and/or the like) of the originator 130. In yet anotherimplementation, the delivery data may include data relating to athird-party location from where the purchased product is to be pickedup. For example, the delivery data may include data relating to a nameand address for a facility of the third party.

The delivery data may also include any data that relates to thespecified date mentioned above. For example, the delivery data mayinclude data relating to a specific date and/or time that has beenagreed to by both the customer 120 and the originator 130. In anotherexample, the delivery data may include data relating to a range of datesand/or times for when the product will be provided. In yet anotherexample, the delivery data may include data relating to a date and/ortime by when a person known in the art would expect the product to beprovided. In another example, the delivery data may include datarelating to a date determined by the originator 130 based on thedesignated location.

The order data provided by the originator 130 may also includeprioritization data. Prioritization data may include data that reflectsthe priorities of the originator 130 when finding a fulfiller using thefulfillment platform 110. In one such implementation, the prioritizationdata may include data that indicates whether the originator 130 placesan importance on one or more of the following factors when finding afulfiller: minimizing price, ensuring on-time delivery, and priorratings history. For example, the originator 130 may rank these factorsin order of importance via the above-mentioned applications or the webbrowser and using the input devices of its computing devices 131. Inanother example, the originator 130 may select one or more of thesefactors as being important via the applications or the web browser andusing the input devices of its computing devices 131. In a furtherimplementation, the order data may also include data derived from theoriginator database, such as the originator contact data, the originatorpayment data, and/or the originator ratings data associated with theoriginator 130.

E. Pricing and Fulfillment Models

Once provided by the originator 130, the one or more computing devices131 may transmit the order data to the fulfillment platform 110 via thenetwork 102. In turn, the platform 110 may use this data to find one ormore fulfillers for the originator 130. In one implementation, utilizingthe order data, the fulfillment platform 110 may use a pricing modeland/or a fulfillment model to find one or more fulfillers that canprovide the product purchased by the customer 120 at the designatedlocation by the specified date. The pricing model and/or the fulfillmentmodel may include one or more algorithms, equations, and/or the like andmay be implemented using the one or more computing devices 111.

In particular, the fulfillment platform 110 may use the pricing model todetermine optimal prices between the originator 130 and the plurality offulfillers 140. An optimal price may represent a recommended price atwhich the originator 130 should pay a respective fulfiller for providingthe product to the customer 120 at the designated location by thespecified date.

In one implementation, the fulfillment platform 110 may use the pricingmodel to determine an optimal price between the originator 130 and eachfulfiller of the plurality of fulfillers 140. In another implementation,the fulfillment platform 110 may use the pricing model to determine anoptimal price between the originator 130 and each fulfiller of a subsetof the plurality of fulfillers 140. In one such implementation, thefulfillment platform 110 may choose the subset of fulfillers bysearching and/or querying the fulfillment database using any techniqueknown to those skilled in the art. For example, the platform 110 may usethe fulfillment database to choose fulfillers whose inventory dataincludes data for an SKU that matches the SKU of the purchased product(as indicated by the order data). In another example, the platform 110may use the fulfillment database to choose fulfillers whose inventorydata includes an industry designation that matches the industrydesignation of the purchased product (as indicated by the order data).In yet another example, the platform 110 may use the fulfillmentdatabase to choose fulfillers whose profile data includes industry datathat matches the industry designation of the purchased product (asindicated by the order data). A fulfiller for whom an optimal price isdetermined may hereinafter be referred to as a relevant fulfiller.

For each relevant fulfiller, the fulfillment platform 110 may derive oneor more numerical values from the order data and/or from data extractedfrom the fulfillment database, and these numerical values may be used asinputs to the pricing model. The fulfillment platform 110 may extractthe data from the fulfillment database using any search and/or querytechniques known to those skilled in the art. In one implementation, thefulfillment platform 110 may extract inventory data, location data, andshipping data from the fulfillment database.

In a further implementation, the fulfillment platform 110 may derivenumerical values from the product data and the delivery data of theorder data and from the inventory data, location data, and shipping dataof the fulfillment database. Such numerical values may include, but arenot limited to, values relating to one or more of the following: thedistance between the designated location and the fulfiller, costsassociated with the types and classes of shipment of the product betweenthe designated location and the fulfiller, quantities of the productavailable in inventory of the fulfiller, one or more costs associatedwith the product for the fulfiller, the quantity of the product that waspurchased by the customer 120, the price that the customer 120 paid oragreed to pay to the originator 130 for the product, the number oforders for the product from all originators using the platform 110, thequantity of the product available in inventory for all fulfillers 140,and/or the like.

In a further implementation, the fulfillment platform 110 may provide anumerical value for a profit split as an input to the pricing model. Theprofit split may represent a percentage of net profit earned by thefulfiller after providing the product to the customer 120 at thedesignated location by the specified date. In one example, thefulfillment platform 110 may set the profit split to fifty percent bydefault. In some implementations, the remaining percentage of net profitmay be provided to the originator 130, the entity operating and/orproviding the platform 110, or both.

In one implementation, using the above-mentioned numerical values, thefulfillment platform 110 may use the pricing model to determine anoptimal price between the originator 130 and a fulfiller based on a sumof estimated shipping costs to the designated location, estimated costsassociated with the product for the fulfiller, and an estimatedfulfiller fee to be earned by the fulfiller after providing the product.In such an implementation, the pricing model may be implemented usingone or more equations, such as Equation 1:Optimal Price=(Distance)(Shipping Cost)+(Fulfiller ProductCost)(Quantity Purchased)+(Profit Split)(Price Paid−Fulfiller ProductCost−(Distance)(Shipping Cost))  (1)where Distance represents the distance between the designated locationand the fulfiller, Shipping Cost represents average shipping cost permile for a particular shipping type and/or class, Fulfiller Product Costrepresents the total cost associated with the product for the fulfiller(e.g., a sum of acquisition costs, maintenance costs, production costs,storage costs, and/or the like), Quantity Purchased represents thequantity of the product that was purchased by the customer 120, ProfitSplit represents the profit split set by the platform 110, and PricePaid represents the price that the customer 120 paid or agreed to pay tothe originator 130 for the product. In particular, the product of theDistance and Shipping Cost may represent an estimated shipping cost tothe designated location, the product of the Fulfiller Product Cost andthe Quantity Purchased may represent an estimated cost associated withthe purchased product for the fulfiller, and the remaining term inEquation 1 may represent an estimated fulfiller fee to be earned by thefulfiller after providing the product. The Optimal Price output byEquation 1 may be a recommended price at which the originator 130 shouldpay a respective fulfiller for providing the product to the customer 120at the designated location by the specified date (e.g., OptimalPrice=$46.50 for a certain fulfiller).

Though not shown in Equation 1, one or more of the variables used in thepricing model may be weighted. The weight for each variable may bedetermined based on input from the originator 130, based on previoustransactions between the originator 130 and the fulfillers 140, based onhistorical preferences of an average originator or fulfiller accordingto previous transactions, and/or the like. In addition, though not shownin Equation 1, the pricing model may incorporate a demand calculation inthe estimated fulfiller fee mentioned above. In particular, the demandcalculation may incorporate numerical values corresponding to a demandfor the purchased product, where such values may include the number oforders for the product from all originators using the platform 110, thequantity of the product available in inventory for all fulfillers 140,and/or the like.

After determining an optimal price for each relevant fulfiller, thefulfillment platform 110 may use the fulfillment model to determine abest match for the originator 130 among the relevant fulfillers. Inparticular, the fulfillment model may be used to produce a numericalmatch score, such that a relevant fulfiller with the highest match scoremay be considered to be the best match for the originator 130.

For each relevant fulfiller, the fulfillment platform 110 may derive oneor more numerical values from the order data and/or from data extractedfrom the fulfillment database, and these numerical values may be used asinputs to the fulfillment model. The fulfillment platform 110 mayextract the data from the fulfillment database using any search and/orquery techniques known to those skilled in the art. In oneimplementation, the fulfillment platform 110 may extract the inventorydata, the location data, the shipping data, the ratings data, and thecapacity data from the fulfillment database. In addition, the optimalprice determined for each relevant fulfiller may be used as an input tothe fulfillment model.

In a further implementation, the fulfillment platform 110 may derivenumerical values from the product data, the delivery data, and theprioritization data of the order data. In addition, the fulfillmentplatform 110 may derive numerical values from the inventory data, thelocation data, the shipping data, the ratings data, and the capacitydata of the fulfillment database. Such numerical values may include, butare not limited to, values relating to one or more of the following: atracking code for the purchased product (e.g., the SKU), the quantity ofthe product that was purchased by the customer 120, the price that thecustomer 120 paid or agreed to pay to the originator 130 for theproduct, the distance between the designated location and the fulfiller,whether the fulfiller is accepting new orders for the product,quantities of the product available in inventory of the fulfiller,average rating for the fulfiller, estimated delivery times for the typesand classes of shipment of the product between the designated locationand the fulfiller, priorities of the originator 130, and/or the like.

In addition, as similarly explained above, one or more of the variablesused in the fulfillment model may be weighted. The weight for eachvariable may be determined based on input from the originator 130, basedon previous transactions between the originator 130 and the fulfillers140, based on historical preferences of an average originator orfulfiller according to previous transactions, and/or the like. Forexample, the weights used may be based on historical preferences and onthe prioritization data received from the originator 130.

In one implementation, using the above-mentioned numerical values, thefulfillment platform 110 may use the fulfillment model to determine amatch score between the originator 130 and a relevant fulfiller based oninventory of the fulfiller, capacity of the fulfiller, delivery time forthe fulfiller, priorities of the originator 130, average rating for thefulfiller, and the optimal price determined earlier. In such animplementation, the pricing model may be implemented using one or moreequations, such as Equation 2:Match Score=(In Stock)(New Orders)((Delivery Weight)(DeliveryDelay)+(Price Weight)(Optimal Price)+(Ratings Weight)(Rating))  (2)

The In Stock variable may represent a binary value, where the variableis equal to 1 if the quantities of the product in inventory for thefulfiller is greater than or equal to the quantity of the product thatwas purchased by the customer 120. The variable may be equal to 0 ifnot. The New Orders variable may represent a binary value, where thevariable is equal to 1 if the fulfiller is accepting new orders for theproduct and is equal to 0 if the fulfiller is not. The Delivery Weightvariable may represent a weight as determined by the platform 110, wherethe weight may be a default value that can be increased if theoriginator 130 considers ensuring on-time delivery of the product to bea priority. The Delivery Delay may represent the length of time (e.g.,days), if any, that delivery of the product to the customer 120 may bedelayed. The Price Weight variable may represent a weight as determinedby the platform 110, where the weight may be a default value that can beincreased if the originator 130 considers minimizing an optimal price ofthe product to be a priority. The Ratings Weight variable may representa weight as determined by the platform 110, where the weight may be adefault value that can be increased if the originator 130 considersprior ratings history of the fulfiller to be a priority. The Ratingsvariable may represent the average rating for the fulfiller. The MatchScore output by Equation 2 may be a numerical match score for thefulfiller (e.g., Match Score=0.95 for a certain fulfiller).

Accordingly, the fulfillment platform 110 may use the fulfillment modelto determine a match score for each relevant fulfiller, and the platform110 may use these match scores to select the best-matched fulfiller thatcan supply the product purchased by the customer 120 and provide it atthe designated location by the specified date. For example, the platform110 may rank the relevant fulfillers based on their respective matchscores, with a higher match score corresponding to a better-matchedfulfiller and a higher ranking. For implementations in which multiplefulfillers have equivalent match scores, the platform 110 may use atiebreaker to determine the higher ranked fulfiller. Such a tiebreakermay include assigning a higher rank to the fulfiller with the shortestdistance to the designated location, the lowest optimal price, and/orthe like.

F. Originator-Fulfiller Agreement

After selecting the relevant fulfiller with the highest match score, thefulfillment platform 110 may provide details of a potential agreement tothe originator 130 and the highest-ranked fulfiller. In particular, theplatform may transmit the details to the respective computing devices(e.g., computing devices 131 and 141) of the originator 130 and thehighest-ranked fulfiller. The computing devices may, through one or moreapplications or a web browser, display a prompt with details of thepotential agreement.

The details may include that, for a determined optimal price, thehighest-ranked fulfiller agrees to supply the product purchased by thecustomer 120 and provide it at the designated location by the specifieddate. The details may also state that, according to the potentialagreement, the highest-ranked fulfiller agrees to ship the product inaccordance with the type and class of shipment used in determining thematch score for the fulfiller. The details may further include theproposed profit share between the originator 130 and the highest-ranked,which may be set to fifty percent by default by the platform 110. Thedetails may additionally include liability provisions for the agreement,such as financial remedies in the event of a late or damaged liability(e.g., an evenly shared liability between the originator 130 and thehighest-ranked fulfiller). In some implementations, the originator 130and the highest-ranked fulfiller may be able to renegotiate one or moredetails of the agreement through a messaging application implementedthrough the platform 110.

To finalize the agreement, the platform 110 may require that theoriginator 130 and the highest-ranked fulfiller transmit confirmationdata to the platform 110, where the confirmation data may include dataindicating whether the party consents to the agreement. Such data mayinclude an image of a signature, an image of government-issuedidentification, and/or the like. In some implementations, the originator130 and/or the highest-ranked fulfiller may refuse to consent to theagreement. As such, the confirmation data from the non-consenting partymay indicate the rejection of the agreement. The platform 110 may thenprovide details of a potential agreement to the originator 130 and to anext highest-ranked fulfiller. Once the platform 110 receivesconfirmation data from the originator 130 and a fulfiller that eachparty consents to the agreement, then fulfiller and the platform 110 mayproceed with arranging for delivery of the product for the originator130. The fulfiller that consents to the agreement may hereinafter bereferred to as the confirmed fulfiller.

G. Delivery

The fulfillment platform 110, the confirmed fulfiller, and/or thedeliverer 150 may arrange for delivery of the product to the customer120 at the designated location by the specified date. In oneimplementation, the platform 110 may transmit delivery command data tothe confirmed fulfiller. The delivery command data may include thedelivery data previously received as part of the order data from theoriginator 130, data relating to the type and class of shipment used indetermining the match score for the confirmed fulfiller, and/or anyother type of data that may be used by the confirmed fulfiller inarranging delivery of the product.

As noted above, the delivery data may include any data that relates tothe designated location mentioned above, such as data relating to a nameand a street address for the designated location. The delivery data mayalso include any data that relates to the specified date. The deliverycommand data may also include data indicating the type and/or stylepackaging that should be applied to the product prior to delivery to thedesignated location. For example, the data may indicate that theconfirmed fulfiller should apply packaging that illustrates the brandingof the originator 130 to the product before delivery. In such anexample, the confirmed fulfiller may be considered as providing theproduct on behalf of the originator 130, such that the customer 120 maybe unaware that the product was provided by an entity other than theoriginator 130.

Upon receiving the delivery command data, the confirmed fulfiller mayarrange for delivery of the product with the deliverer 150. Inparticular, the confirmed fulfiller may transmit the delivery commanddata to the one or more computing devices 151 operated by the deliverer150. As noted above, in some implementations, the deliverer 150 may bean individual or an entity that is unrelated to the customer 120, theoriginator 130, or the plurality of fulfillers 140. For example, thedeliverer 150 may be a courier service. In other implementations, thedeliverer 150 may be an individual or an entity that is related to atleast one of the customer 120, the originator 130, or the plurality offulfillers 140. For example, the deliverer 150 may be a deliveryemployee of the selected fulfiller.

In one implementation, the deliverer 150 may then use the deliverycommand data to perform delivery of the product from the confirmedfulfiller to the customer 120 at the designated location by thespecified time. In particular, the deliverer 150 may acquire the productfrom a physical facility (e.g., a warehouse, a store, an office, and/orthe like) of the confirmed fulfiller and then transport the product tothe designated location by the specified time. In a furtherimplementation, for scenarios in which the deliverer 150 is unrelated tothe confirmed fulfiller, the fulfillment platform 110 may includelocation data for the confirmed fulfiller in the delivery command data,where the location data may include data relating to a street addressfor the physical facility of the confirmed fulfiller that stores theproduct.

As mentioned above, the deliverer 150 may use one or more deliverydevices to deliver the product requested by the originator 130 from theselected fulfiller. The one or more delivery devices may include anydelivery device known to those skilled in the art, including automatedvehicles, semi-automated vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV),drones, robotic devices, and/or the like. In some implementations, therespective computing devices of the confirmed fulfiller and/or thedeliverer 150 may transmit the delivery command data to one or morecomputing devices of the delivery device, where the delivery commanddata may also include location data (e.g., data relating to a streetaddress for the physical facility of the confirmed fulfiller that storesthe product). The delivery device may be configured to acquire theproduct from the physical facility of the confirmed fulfiller and thentransport the product to the designated location by the specified time.

In another implementation, the platform 110 may directly transmit thedelivery command data to the one or more computing devices 151 operatedby the deliverer 150. In a further implementation, the platform 110 mayalso directly transmit the delivery command data one or more computingdevices of the delivery device.

In one implementation, the computing devices of the deliverer or thedelivery device may, via the network 102, initially transmit start datato the fulfillment platform 110, to a computing device (e.g., computingdevice 141) of the confirmed fulfiller, to the one or more computingdevices 131 of the originator 130, and/or to the one or more computingdevices 121 of the customer 120 upon acquiring the product from thephysical facility of the confirmed fulfiller. This transmission of thestart data may indicate that the transport of the product to thedesignated location has commenced.

In another implementation, the confirmed fulfiller may transmit thestart data to the fulfillment platform 110, to a computing device (e.g.,computing device 141) of the confirmed fulfiller, to the one or morecomputing devices 131 of the originator 130, and/or to the one or morecomputing devices 121 of the customer 120. In particular, the confirmedfulfiller may transmit the start data once the product has exited thefacility in which it was stored. In some implementations, the confirmedfulfiller may determine whether the product has exited the facilityusing the acquisition equipment described above. The acquisitionequipment may include any equipment known in the art that can detect thepresence of a product in a facility, such as sensors, readers, scanners,and/or cameras, including the examples mentioned above. In particular,the acquisition equipment may detect when a product has exited thephysical facility, and the equipment may transmit this detection to theone or more computing devices (e.g., computing device 141) of theconfirmed fulfiller. In turn, the computing devices may then transmitthis detection to the platform 110 via the network 102, where theplatform 110 may transmit the start data to the above-mentioned partiesto indicate that the transport of the product has commenced.

In one implementation, while the deliverer 150 is transporting theproduct to the designated location by the specified time, the one ormore computing devices 151 may, via the network 102, transmit trackingdata to the fulfillment platform 110, to a computing device (e.g.,computing device 141) of the confirmed fulfiller, to the one or morecomputing devices 131 of the originator 130, and/or to the one or morecomputing devices 121 of the customer 120. In another implementation,the one or more computing devices of the delivery device may, via thenetwork 102, transmit tracking data to the fulfillment platform 110, toa computing device (e.g., computing device 140) of the confirmedfulfiller, to the one or more computing devices 131 of the originator130, and/or to the one or more computing devices 121 of the customer120. The tracking data may include any data corresponding to ageographic location of the product.

In particular, while transporting the product, the computing devices ofthe deliverer 150 or the delivery device may transmit the tracking datato the above-mentioned parties in real-time or near real-time. In oneimplementation, the computing devices may utilize a satellite-basednavigation system (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS)) to determine ageographic location of the product. In a further implementation, thecomputing devices may be configured to communicate with tags, sensors,or codes attached to the product, where the computing devices may usesuch devices to track the product relative to the computing devices. Inanother implementation, the tracking data may be provided via manualinput to the computing devices.

When completing the delivery of the product to the designated location,the computing devices of the deliverer 150 or the delivery device maytransmit completion data that indicates an arrival of the product at thedesignated location and a completion of the delivery. In oneimplementation, the computing devices may utilize the satellite-basednavigation system to determine if the deliverer 150 or the deliverydevice has arrived at the designated location. In anotherimplementation, the computing devices may analyze a loss ofcommunication between the computing devices and the tags, sensors, orcodes attached to the product and then determine that the product hasbeen delivered to the designated location. In yet anotherimplementation, if delivering the product to a location associated withthe customer 120 (e.g., a customer's home), then acquisition equipmentconnected to the one or more computing devices 121 of the customer 120may be used to detect the delivery of the product. For example, camerasused to obtain images that can be interpreted using artificialintelligence and/or computer vision may capture an image of the productdelivery at the home of the customer 120. These images may trigger theone or more computing devices 121 to transmit the completion data to thefulfillment platform 110, to a computing device (e.g., computing device140) of the confirmed fulfiller, and/or to the one or more computingdevices 131 of the originator 130.

Once delivery of the product to the designated location has beencompleted, the fulfillment platform 110 may transmit a finalnotification of delivery to the computing device (e.g., computing device140) of the confirmed fulfiller and/or to the one or more computingdevices 131 of the originator 130. In some implementations, uponcompletion of the delivery, the payment network mentioned above may beused to transfer payments via the platform 102, such as payments betweenthe originator 130 and the confirmed fulfiller, payments between theoriginator 130 and the customer 120, and/or payments between theconfirmed fulfiller and the deliverer 150. In addition, upon completionof the delivery, the originator 130 and the confirmed fulfiller mayprovide ratings, reviews, and/or feedback for the other through theplatform 110. The ratings, reviews, and/or feedback may be stored inrespective profile data for the originator 130 and the confirmedfulfiller.

In another implementation, the fulfillment platform 110 may beconfigured to arrange for an automated delivery of the product for thecustomer 120 upon receiving the order data from the originator 130. Inparticular, after receiving the order data, the platform 110 mayautomatically determine the best-matched fulfiller using the order dataand the fulfillment database. After determining the best-matchedfulfiller, in some implementations, the agreement between the originator130 and the best-matched fulfiller may be auto-accepted by both parties.The fulfillment platform 110 may then transmit the delivery command datato the deliverer 150, including to a delivery device associated with thedeliverer 150. The delivery device may be configured to acquire theproduct from a physical facility of the fulfiller and then transport itto the designated location. The product may be tracked as describedabove (e.g., GPS), and delivery of the product may be confirmed asdescribed above (e.g., GPS, acquisition equipment, and/or the like).Upon confirmation of delivery, the platform 110 may be configured toautomatically initiate payments between the parties using the paymentnetwork.

Further, although operations above are discussed with respect to onearrangement of the system 100, those skilled in the art will understandthat operation may be performed for other arrangements of the system 100and/or with additional elements. For example, though a single purchasedproduct is discussed with respect to a transaction between the customer120 and the originator 130, those skilled in the art will understandthat the implementations described herein may be applied to scenarios inwhich multiple products are purchased by the customer 120 from theoriginator 130. In another example, those skilled in the art willunderstand that the implementations described herein may be applied toscenarios in which a service is purchased by a customer 120 from theoriginator 130. In yet another example, though a transaction between thecustomer 120 and the originator 130 is discussed as involving apurchased product, those skilled in the art will understand that theimplementations described herein may be applied to scenarios before thecustomer 120 formally purchases the product from the originator 130,such as where the customer 120 only purchases the product after theoriginator 130 confirms that the product is available via the platform110.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 200 for using afulfillment platform in accordance with implementations of varioustechniques described herein. In one implementation, method 200 may be atleast partially performed by a computing device, such as the one or morecomputing devices 111 discussed above. It should be understood thatwhile method 200 indicates a particular order of execution ofoperations, in some implementations, certain portions of the operationsmight be executed in a different order. Further, in someimplementations, additional operations or steps may be added to themethod 200. Likewise, some operations or steps may be omitted.

At block 210, the computing device may generate a fulfillment databasefor a plurality of fulfillers. As noted above, the fulfillment databasemay include profile data for the plurality of fulfillers, where theprofile data for each fulfiller may include inventory data, locationdata, shipping data, payment data, capacity data, ratings data, and/orindustry data. Such profile data may be provided by the fulfiller and/orthe fulfillment platform.

At block 220, the computing device may receive order data from anoriginator. As noted above, the order data may include data relating toone or more attributes of a transaction between a customer and theoriginator. As part of the transaction between the customer and theoriginator, the customer may purchase a product from the originator withan expectation that the product will be provided at a designatedlocation by a specified date in the future. The order data may includeproduct data, delivery data, prioritization data, and/or data derivedfrom an originator database.

At block 230, the computing device may determine a plurality of optimalprices for the plurality of fulfillers using a pricing model based on atleast the order data and the fulfillment database. An optimal price mayrepresent a recommended price at which the originator should pay arespective fulfiller for providing the product to the customer at thedesignated location by the specified date. For each relevant fulfiller,the computing device may derive one or more numerical values from theorder data and/or from data extracted from the fulfillment database, andthese numerical values may be used as inputs to the pricing model.

At block 240, the computing device may select a first fulfiller of theplurality of fulfillers using a fulfillment model based on at least theorder data, the fulfillment database, and the plurality of optimalprices. The fulfillment model may be used to produce a numerical matchscore, such that a relevant fulfiller with the highest match score maybe considered to be the best match for the originator. For each relevantfulfiller, the computing device may derive one or more numerical valuesfrom the order data and/or from data extracted from the fulfillmentdatabase, and these numerical values may be used as inputs to thefulfillment model.

At block 250, the computing device may arrange a delivery of the productby a deliverer from the first fulfiller to the designated location forthe customer. In one implementation, the computing device may transmitdelivery command data to the first fulfiller, the deliverer, and/or adelivery device. The delivery command data may include the delivery datapreviously received as part of the order data from the originator, datarelating to the type and class of shipment used in determining the matchscore for the confirmed fulfiller, and/or any other type of data thatmay be used by the confirmed fulfiller in arranging delivery of theproduct.

Accordingly, in view of the implementations discussed above with respectto FIGS. 1 and 2 , a fulfillment model may be used for product delivery.As mentioned above, at times, a business may be unable to provide theproduct to the customer by the specified date for one or more reasons.In one implementation, the business may attempt to resolve the issue ofunavailability by using the fulfillment platform with its pricing modeland fulfillment model.

In particular, the business may be able to search for a fulfiller of theproduct that is able to perform a delivery of the product to adesignated location by a specified time. Moreover, the business may beable to find a fulfiller that is able to perform the delivery inaccordance with the priorities (e.g., minimizing price, ensuring on-timedelivery, and prior ratings history) held by the business. The businessmay not otherwise be able to find a fulfiller that is able to performthe delivery in such a manner without the use of the fulfillmentplatform.

In addition, by using the fulfillment model, the business may be able toobtain a product for a customer in a time-efficient and/orcost-efficient manner, regardless of a previous ability of the businessto access a network of suppliers for the product. For example, by usingthe fulfillment platform, the business may be able to shorten thewaiting time to have the product provided for the customer and/or ensuredelivery of the product for the customer, which may help the businessavoid lost revenue due to its issues with product unavailability. Assuch, via the fulfillment platform, the business may be able to maximizesales revenue and/or customer service. Further, by using the fulfillmentplatform and its incorporation of ratings data for the fulfillers, thebusiness may decrease its risk that one of its customers receives aproduct that is defective, fraudulent, costlier than average, of poorquality, and/or the like.

III. Computing Device

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of a computing device 300 in which one ormore various technologies described herein may be incorporated andpracticed. The computing device 300 may include, for example, one ormore servers, workstations, personal computers, laptops, tablets,smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and/or the like. In oneimplementation, the computing device 300 may include a single computingdevice. In another implementation, the computing device 300 may includemultiple computing devices located in close proximity or distributedover a geographic region, where the computing devices may be configuredto function as described herein.

The computing device 300 can be used to implement one or more of thecomputing devices discussed above, such as the devices 111, 121, 131,141, and 151. Those skilled in the art will understand that the system100 may use different computing devices and/or arrangements of computingdevices than those described with respect to FIG. 3 . In addition,different components and/or arrangements of components may be used inother computing devices.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the computing device 300 may include a processor302 and a memory 304 coupled to (and in communication with) theprocessor 302. The processor 302 may include one or more processingunits (e.g., in a multi-core configuration, etc.). For example, theprocessor 302 may include, without limitation, a central processing unit(CPU), a microcontroller, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC)processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aprogrammable logic device (PLD), a gate array, and/or any other circuitor processor capable of the functions described herein.

The memory 304, as described herein, may include one or more devicesthat permit data, instructions, etc., to be stored therein and retrievedtherefrom. The memory 304 may include one or more computer-readablestorage media, such as, without limitation, dynamic random access memory(DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read only memory (ROM),erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), solid state devices,flash drives, CD-ROMs, thumb drives, floppy disks, tapes, hard disks,and/or any other type of volatile or nonvolatile physical or tangiblecomputer-readable media. The memory 304 may be configured to store,without limitation, images, private and/or public keys, public/privatekey pairs, identity records, certified and/or certification records,hashed data, signed data, and/or other types of data (and/or datastructures) suitable for use as described herein. Furthermore, invarious implementations, computer-executable instructions may be storedin the memory 304 for execution by the processor 302 to cause theprocessor 302 to perform one or more of the functions described herein,such that the memory 304 may be a physical, tangible, and non-transitorycomputer readable storage media. Such instructions may be used toimprove the efficiencies and/or performance of the processor 302 and/orother computer system components configured to perform one or more ofthe various operations herein. It should be appreciated that the memory304 may include a variety of different memories, each implemented in oneor more of the functions or processes described herein.

The computing device 300 may also include a presentation unit 306 thatis coupled to (and that is in communication with) the processor 302.However, it should be appreciated that the computing device 300 couldinclude output devices other than the presentation unit 306 and/or thelike. The presentation unit 306 may output information, visually, forexample, to a user. Further, one or more interfaces may be displayed atcomputing device 300, including at presentation unit 306, to displaycertain information. The one or more interfaces may be defined by theone or more applications mentioned above, defined by websites, definedby mobile applications, and/or the like. In addition, the one or moreinterfaces may be used to capture images of documents, capture selfies,capture biometrics, and/or the like. The presentation unit 306 mayinclude, without limitation, a liquid crystal display (LCD), alight-emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (OLED) display, an“electronic ink” display, speakers, and/or the like. In someimplementations, the presentation unit 306 may include multiple devices.

In addition, the computing device 300 may include an input device 308configured to receive one or more inputs from a user (i.e., userinputs), such as in response to prompts from the one or moreapplications described above. The one or more inputs may include imagesof documents, images of a user (e.g., biometric data), and/or the like.The input device 308 may include a single input device or multiple inputdevices. The input device 308 may be coupled to (and in communicationwith) the processor 302. The input device 308 may include, for example,a keyboard, a pointing device, a mouse, a stylus, a camera, fingerprintscanner, a touch sensitive panel (e.g., a touch pad or a touch screen,etc.), acquisition equipment as described above, another computingdevice, an audio input device, or combinations thereof. In oneimplementation, a touch screen, such as that included in a tablet, asmartphone, or similar device, may behave as both a presentation unitand an input device. As mentioned above, the computing device mayinclude or configured to be coupled to any equipment used to acquire oneor more images of documents or biometric data. Such equipment mayinclude a camera, a biometric sensor (e.g., fingerprint sensor, irisscanner, palm scanner, and/or the like), and/or any other deviceconfigured to acquire such data.

Further, the illustrated computing device 300 may include a networkinterface 310 coupled to (and in communication with) the processor 302and the memory 304. The network interface 310 may include, withoutlimitation, a wired network adapter, a wireless network adapter (e.g., anear field communication (NFC) adapter, a Bluetooth adapter, etc.), amobile network adapter, and/or other devices capable of communicating toone or more different devices of the networks described herein. Further,in some implementations, the computing device 300 may include theprocessor 302 and one or more network interfaces incorporated into orwith the processor 302. In some implementations, the computing device300 may include global positioning system (GPS) capability, whereby thecomputing device 300 may determine its current geographic location,perform mapping applications, and/or the like.

The description provided herein may be directed to specificimplementations. It should be understood that the discussion providedherein is provided for the purpose of enabling a person with ordinaryskill in the art to make and use any subject matter defined herein bythe subject matter of the claims.

It should be intended that the subject matter of the claims not belimited to the implementations and illustrations provided herein, butinclude modified forms of those implementations including portions ofimplementations and combinations of elements of differentimplementations in accordance with the claims. It should be appreciatedthat in the development of any such implementation, as in anyengineering or design project, numerous implementation-specificdecisions should be made to achieve a developers' specific goals, suchas compliance with system-related and business related constraints,which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it shouldbe appreciated that such a development effort may be complex and timeconsuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design,fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having benefitof this disclosure.

Reference has been made in detail to various implementations, examplesof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and figures. Inthe detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the disclosure provided herein.However, the disclosure provided herein may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some other instances, well-known methods,procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been describedin detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure details of the embodiments.

It should also be understood that, although the terms first, second,etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elementsshould not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used todistinguish one element from another. For example, a first element couldbe termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could betermed a first element. The first element and the second element areboth elements, respectively, but they are not to be considered the sameelement.

The terminology used in the description of the disclosure providedherein is for the purpose of describing particular implementations andis not intended to limit the disclosure provided herein. As used in thedescription of the disclosure provided herein and appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term“and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possiblecombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The terms“includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used inthis specification, specify a presence of stated features, integers,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” dependingon the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [astated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event],” depending on the context. The terms “up” and“down”; “upper” and “lower”; “upwardly” and “downwardly”; “below” and“above”; and other similar terms indicating relative positions above orbelow a given point or element may be used in connection with someimplementations of various technologies described herein.

While the foregoing is directed to implementations of various techniquesdescribed herein, other and further implementations may be devised inaccordance with the disclosure herein, which may be determined by theclaims that follow. Although the subject matter has been described inlanguage specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, itis to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appendedclaims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actsdescribed above. Rather, the specific features and acts described aboveare disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: generating a fulfillmentdatabase for a plurality of fulfillers, wherein the fulfillment databasecomprises inventory data and location data; receiving order data from anoriginator, wherein the order data comprises delivery data and productdata corresponding to a transaction between a customer and theoriginator, and wherein the product data comprises data corresponding toa product purchased by the customer from the originator; determining aplurality of optimal prices for the plurality of fulfillers using apricing model based on at least the order data and the fulfillmentdatabase; selecting a first fulfiller of the plurality of fulfillersusing a fulfillment model based on at least the order data, thefulfillment database, and the plurality of optimal prices, whereinselecting the first fulfiller of the plurality of fulfillers includesdetermining a plurality of match scores for the plurality of fulfillersusing the fulfillment model, and selecting the first fulfiller based ona highest match score among the plurality of match scores; andtransmitting delivery command data to a delivery device, wherein thedelivery device is configured to perform a delivery of the product fromthe first fulfiller to a designated location for the customer based onthe delivery command data.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein generatingthe fulfillment database comprises: receiving profile data from arespective fulfiller, wherein the received profile data comprisesrespective inventory data and respective location data for therespective fulfiller; and generating the fulfillment database based onthe received profile data.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein therespective inventory data comprises data acquired using acquisitionequipment by the respective fulfiller, wherein the data relates toinventory offered for sale by the respective fulfiller, and wherein theacquisition equipment comprises one or more sensors, one or morereaders, one or more scanners, one or more cameras, or combinationsthereof.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the delivery data comprisesdata relating to an address for the designated location, wherein thedesignated location comprises a location where the product is to beprovided for access by the customer by a predetermined date.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the designated location comprises a locationassociated with the customer, a location associated with the originator,or a location associated with a third party.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein a respective optimal price comprises a recommended price atwhich the originator is to pay a respective fulfiller for delivering theproduct to the designated location for the customer, and whereindetermining the plurality of optimal prices comprises: extracting atleast respective inventory data, respective location data, andrespective shipping data from the fulfillment database for a respectivefulfiller; generating a plurality of numerical values for at least theproduct data, the delivery data, the respective inventory data, therespective location data, and the respective shipping data for therespective fulfiller; providing the plurality of numerical values asinputs to the pricing model; and determining a respective optimal pricefor the respective fulfiller using the pricing model.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the pricing model is configured to determine a sum ofestimated shipping cost between the respective fulfiller and thedesignated location, the estimated cost of the product for therespective fulfiller, and an estimated fee to be earned by therespective fulfiller after delivery of the product to the designatedlocation.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of numericalvalues comprises numerical values corresponding to a distance betweenthe designated location and the respective fulfiller, a cost associatedwith shipping the product between the designated location and therespective fulfiller, a quantity of the product available in inventoryof the respective fulfiller, a cost associated with the product for thefulfiller, a quantity of the product that was purchased by the customer,a price that the customer paid or agreed to pay to the originator forthe product, a quantity of the product available in inventory for theplurality of fulfillers, a profit split between the originator and therespective fulfiller, or combinations thereof.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein selecting the first fulfiller comprises: extracting theinventory data, the location data, shipping data, ratings data, andcapacity data from the fulfillment database for the plurality offulfillers; generating a plurality of numerical values for the productdata, the delivery data, the inventory data, the location data, theshipping data, the ratings data, the capacity data, and the plurality ofoptimal prices; and providing the plurality of numerical values asinputs to the fulfillment model, determining a plurality of match scoresfor the plurality of fulfillers using the fulfillment model; andselecting the first fulfiller based on the plurality of match scores.10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of numerical valuescomprises numerical values corresponding to a tracking code for theproduct, a quantity of the product that was purchased by the customer, aprice that the customer paid or agreed to pay to the originator for theproduct, a distance between the designated location and a respectivefulfiller, a binary value corresponding to whether the respectivefulfiller is accepting an order for the product, a quantity of theproduct available in inventory of the respective fulfiller, an averagerating for the respective fulfiller, an estimated delivery time for atype and class of shipment of the product between the designatedlocation and the respective fulfiller, one or more priorities of theoriginator, or combinations thereof.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein:one or more of the plurality of numerical values is weighted in thepricing model based on historical data of transaction, prioritizationdata of the originator, or combinations thereof; and the prioritizationdata comprises data indicative of a priority for the originator forprice minimization, on-time delivery, and prior ratings history.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the first fulfiller comprises a respectivefulfiller with a highest-ranked match score of the plurality of matchscores, and wherein the respective fulfiller agrees to provide theproduct to the designated location.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein:the delivery device comprises one or more automated vehicles, one ormore semi-automated vehicles, one or more unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV), one or more drones, one or more robotic devices, or combinationsthereof, and the delivery device is configured to acquire the productfrom a facility associated with the first fulfiller.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the delivery command data comprises data relating topackaging of the product and the delivery data, and wherein the deliverydata comprises data relating to an address for the designated location.15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving tracking datafrom the delivery device during the delivery, wherein the tracking datacomprises data corresponding to a geographic location of the product,and wherein the tracking data comprises data acquired using asatellite-based navigation system, one or more readers, one or morescanners, one or more cameras, or combinations thereof; and receivingconfirmation data indicative of the delivery to the designated locationfor the customer using the delivery device.
 16. A method, comprising:generating a fulfillment database for a plurality of fulfillers, whereinthe fulfillment database comprises inventory data and location data;receiving order data from an originator, wherein the order datacomprises delivery data and product data corresponding to a transactionbetween a customer and the originator, and wherein the product datacomprises data corresponding to a product purchased by the customer fromthe originator; determining a plurality of optimal prices for theplurality of fulfillers using a pricing model based on at least theorder data and the fulfillment database; selecting a first fulfiller ofthe plurality of fulfillers using a fulfillment model based on at leastthe order data, the fulfillment database, and the plurality of optimalprices, wherein selecting the first fulfiller of the plurality offulfillers includes determining a plurality of match scores for theplurality of fulfillers using the fulfillment model, and selecting thefirst fulfiller based on a highest match score among the plurality ofmatch scores; and arranging a delivery of the product by a delivererfrom the first fulfiller to a designated location for the customer. 17.The method of claim 16, wherein arranging the delivery comprisestransmitting delivery command data to the deliverer, wherein thedelivery command data comprises data relating to packaging of theproduct and the delivery data, and wherein the delivery data comprisesdata relating to an address for the designated location.
 18. A system,comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memory comprising aplurality of program instructions which, when executed by the one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to: generate afulfillment database for a plurality of fulfillers, wherein thefulfillment database comprises inventory data and location data; receiveorder data from an originator, wherein the order data comprises deliverydata and product data corresponding to a transaction between a customerand the originator, and wherein the product data comprises datacorresponding to a product purchased by the customer from theoriginator; determine a plurality of optimal prices for the plurality offulfillers using a pricing model based on at least the order data andthe fulfillment database; select a first fulfiller of the plurality offulfillers using a fulfillment model based on at least the order data,the fulfillment database, and the plurality of optimal prices, whereinselecting the first fulfiller of the plurality of fulfillers includesdetermining a plurality of match scores for the plurality of fulfillersusing the fulfillment model, and selecting the first fulfiller based ona highest match score among the plurality of match scores; and transmitdelivery command data to a delivery device, wherein the delivery deviceis configured to perform a delivery of the product from the firstfulfiller to a designated location for the customer based on thedelivery command data.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein a respectiveoptimal price comprises a recommended price at which the originator isto pay a respective fulfiller for delivering the product to thedesignated location for the customer.
 20. The system of claim 18,wherein: the delivery device comprises one or more automated vehicles,one or more semi-automated vehicles, one or more unmanned aerialvehicles (UAV), one or more drones, one or more robotic devices, orcombinations thereof; and the delivery device is configured to acquirethe product from a facility associated with the first fulfiller.